The beauty of fall in Virginia never ceases to bring me joy. Sometimes a complete refreshing of my mind and body can happen as I tour the mountain views with a ride through our local national park. I give thanks for the foresight of those people who imagined and all the people who helped to create our national parks, as well as those who had to move and sacrifice too. These are a gift to each of us. A ride thought the park can bring peace to my mind, spirit and eyes, no matter what else is going on in my life. This is one way I feed my own peace.
Knowing what gives us peace, what brings us joy and what strengthens us is important. We can see this through each of The 5 Needs at times, and at times, only one of the needs. Let me share how going into nature helps me, brings me joy, and is connected to some of The 5 Needs. Then you can look at something in your life too. When we, pause, take time to explore how well we are doing with meeting each of our needs, often without even noticing it, we can strengthen ourselves from the inside out.
For me, going to the mountains doesn’t cost me anything. There is freedom in that. However, I sometimes like to do some Christmas shopping too in the little shops. Then I set some boundaries for how much I will spend. I also need to set time boundaries and not be in the mountains too long. The beauty, peace and joy of the fall colors fill me with so much joy that I can spend far too much time there! *(Freedom and Boundaries)
I feel empowered in the mountains. It is my happy place. I feel relief from life stresses, refreshed and able to think clearly when I am there and afterwards. So, I get power from within as I go to the mountains, as I pause, as I give myself space to “be” I am revived and restored. Being revived helps us is gaining power in our lives to go on and do whatever else we feel is important. *(Power)
A ride through the park and observing the beauty and wildlife increases my peace, so that is good for my health. Staying Alive is more than food and water, it is also peace, joy, and good frame of mind. The mountains provide all of this for me. Peace is important to our health. Seeing the beauty of the colors in the trees and mountains stirs hope in me. When things in life get stressful, we need hope. We need peace. We need joy. All of this is part of staying alive and living fully.
The need for love and belonging also comes to mind during my trips to the mountains. Love begins with learning to practice ways to love ourselves. Taking the time away from everything else is a form of self-love and even self-compassion for me. Taking time to do something I really enjoy is an act of self-love. I feel like I belong to the world and to myself as I go through the mountains. I am a part of nature, a part of my family when they are with me or not, and a part of life. Often my son will join me and sometimes my husband also. This is belonging at its best, doing something together we enjoy. Sharing some fun. *(Love and Belonging)
Yes, the need for fun is also satisfied as I tour nature’s beauty, to notice the beautiful flowers, the little ferns, the leaves dancing to the ground and the tree branches changing as the leaves fall off of them. It is fun to notice the little things and to watch others as they too are enjoying the gift of the nature in the mountains. It is fun to hike large and small hikes at there to find. It is fun to listen to nature, and to the birds, and to see the deer and possibly a bear. It can be fun to shop and find that perfect little gift for someone ai love. Sometimes we share a meal or a drink, hear music, laugh together or to just stop, breathe, and observe. Yes, a trip to the mountains can be so much! *(Fun)
All five of the needs are met in one simple day trip, or even just a few hours in nature. Easy. Perfect. Spend money or not. We can meet all our needs without a lot of work if we are aware and observe what is around us. This is about going to the mountains, but it could also be about going to the beach, the pond, a local park or even your own backyard.
The point is this: we want to notice, become aware, when we are meeting our needs. If we have children or others with us, we can share specifics with them so they too can experience the joy of doing something right for themselves. In the world there is often too much judgment, criticism, too much “to do” and so we often forget to notice, just “being” and all that is good and easy. Using The 5 Needs as a framework, we can begin to switch our mindsets and our perspective, if it is good for us, we can change too. We can feel like we are winning more and the difficult times and things we experience get a bit more balanced. Maybe some hope is also restored as we see we are not doing all that bad after all. We can experience “Being.” *(Staying Alive and Being healthy)
Try it out and see for yourself. Try a similar exercise for yourself and your loved ones or even your students. Pick something to do for yourself and see how you can connect each of the needs to the activity. Have fun. Enjoying the journey of life is multifaceted and has so much to offer, the possibilities are endless. We can take good care of ourselves, have fun, relax, learn to love ourselves, show compassion to ourselves, all with no shame or guilt. Doing so will help us and help us to help others as well. *(Living Fully)
May we each find our own ways to love and nurture who we are and enjoy the gifts this life has to offer by becoming more aware and alert and embracing the little things, the beauty and joys within our sight.
